The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1887-06-17
4 Foreign Issue

More than a year must eidps- before
the two gTea, parties oI the country VIII
t,,. in position tor the Presidential! cam
paigu of 1883 but, early as i: Is, the
probable issues of that contest and The
prospective candidates are undergoing
"A lively discussion in party organs and
by politicians wherever assembled. Mr..
Chauncey NJ. Depew. the President of
the Central X abroad Company, who is
a leader aud a seer among the Republi-
cans of New York, recently expressed
The opinion that tine issues of tie cam
p4ien of 1888 would Ds The Irish gu ion,
the Labor question. the t importance
queSi ion, and tha Tariff. IL pdtting the
Irish question" tiTs. and the Tariff last
he ranged the issues in The order of their
Importance as they presented themselves
to It's mind.
Among the Republican poliI icians
who were gathered If New YOIk - bid
good by 70 Mr.. Blaine the same dispo-
sitiou TO drag a question of foreign
politics into the panty conflicts of this
country betrayed itself. AT a meeting
of the Republican Club of New York,
held on the DAY of Mr.. Baine's depar-
Jure, this Irish question ObtTuded itself
in a report from the Committee on
National Affairs,'' which. Judging
fIom the contents of that report, should
have been styled the Committee on "In-
ternational Affairs This document,
in guarded language, mentioned the
blaine Democratic orgariZ atoms
which gave substantial support to the
national ticket in 1884, > and stated that
these organizations still remain iD exis-
tence, ''undismayed by the Republican
party'S defeat" In the discussion of
the report (which was adUp.ed with
only one dissenting vote a speaker said
that the committee had conferred with
the leading Irish organ cations, and
that they all wanted the Maine states
man, as he Was the only man who had
ever been able to dIaw theiI enemy's fire
from across the sea" "
The demagOgIC purpose of Juggling aD
Irish question into the foreground of
American politics bAs been made mani
fest. But what legitimate relation can
such question bear To the issues which
the people OF thiS country must solve iu
their own Government The great
majority of the American people. with
out regard to party or creed, profoundly
sympAubiZs with the Irish in the mOmen-
tous Struggle upon which they have en-
tered, and the Irish question: can be
dragged into our politics only Dy vio-
lence. If there should be in this country
a party organ iZdtiOu hostile to the Irish
in their struggle, ald in sympathy with
the cOcTciOn policy OF Eng'acd an Irish
question would necessarily arise in
American politics but there is no such
party in the country, and hence the OBJ
trusIOn of such a question may be
regarded as an Irish bull of colossal |
proportions.
The latest attempt to force the Irish
question into the politics of this coun-
Try has met with most notifying
Tepulse for its demagogic authors
William O'Brien, the eloquent advocate
of the Irish cause, who has Just left
these shores with the plaudits and good
wishes of The American people ringing
in his ears, could not be Inyeigied into
the trap that had been cunningly set
Cor him. The patriotic Irish leader
shank inStlncLiVeiy from any action
that might have been cOnsl rued as All at
tempt To thrust his great cause into the
arena of American political discuss ion.
His example deserves to be taken to
heart 10y American cItiZenso of all parties,
native and aatural.Zed. To William
o BIlen the Irish question was a cause
too sacred To be made football of bv
the politicians in another country; and
in the same spirit Of patriotism and
pride, the great body of the American
citizens will not permit the questions
that exclusively concern their own
Government 10 be beliltled and de-
graded by the intrusion of a foreign
issue.
The Blaines, the Chauncey Depews
and the other smart politicians who are
seeking to raise an Irish question in this
country care no more for Ireland and
the Irish than for the value of one of
Woods Irish pennies They dare not
face the important issues of tariff, Teve-
nue., currency, administrative reform,
and the other problems o. American
politics that press for solution. For
this reason they would gladly welcome
a Greek, a Bulgarian or any other ex-
traneOus question that might promise
them mode Of escape from the real
issues before the country. In their
political bankruptcy they have seized
upon the Irish question but, with all
their smartnesS, the mother wit of our
tellOw-citiZens will prove more than a
match for them.-Philddelphia Record